


The burden of secrets

by MoonshineMadame



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 08:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonshineMadame/pseuds/MoonshineMadame
Summary: Postponing Sabrina's baptism is frankly not an option, that much is clear for the entire Spellman family. But only one person knows just why it is so very important that she signs her name in the book and the mere thought of Sabrina's refusal is quite agitating for her aunt Zelda.





	The burden of secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Set during episode 1, after Sabrina asks to postpone her baptism.
> 
> I don't own the 'Chilling adventures of Sabrina'.

Sabrina was having doubts. Simply perfect.

Though that itself would not even be such a terrible thing – if the circumstances were different. But unfortunately, her unbearably stubborn father had decided that it was a good idea to sign his daughters name in the book of the beast just days after her birth and _that_ changed everything.

For a second Zelda stopped pacing in front of the fireplace to look at the picture on the mantelpiece. It showed the three of them, Hilda, Edward and herself, all dressed up for some fancy event back in 1954.

Sometimes Zelda wished that the powers the dark Lord granted them would include time travel. It could solve all their current problems, she could just go back and not let Edward write Sabrina’s name in the book. Maybe she could even go back further, make sure he never met Diana – but no, then Sabrina would never be born and that was something she couldn’t bare think about.

It didn’t matter anyway; time travel was even for the most powerful of witches beyond the possible so thinking about it would only rile her up more. So instead she took up pacing again, it helped her think. Though in this case, it was actually more a measure to calm herself again after the…discussion with Sabrina this morning got a little heated.

Despite what people commonly assumed about Zelda, she didn’t particularly enjoy lying. Twisting the truth, keeping some specifics secret, yes, that was something she had to learn quite early on in her life in order to make it. But sometimes even that got too much, especially when it came to her family.

Keeping the fact that Sabrina’s name was already in the book a secret might not be a lie but it certainly felt like one. Usually she could just forget about it, it wasn’t like she actually _could_ tell anyone after Edward had sworn her to secrecy. But Edward was gone, had been for almost sixteen years now and Zelda had the terribly feeling that Sabrina had inherited the full dosage of Spellman-stubbornness.

Which meant that unless they took care of her doubts right away there would only be trouble ahead. If Sabrina refused to sign the book now, the entire family would be doomed.

Sometimes Zelda couldn’t believe that her brother really had been reckless enough to sign away his firstborns name like that – he could at least have asked her or Hilda about their opinion! Then they could have warned him, told him that it was an absolutely stupid idea and that it wouldn’t end well. They had seen it before, after all, and it had not once worked out the way the parents had hoped.

Then again, this case was a little different than all those, she thought. None of those families had signed their children’s’ names away because of a deal they had made with the dark Lord. Perhaps, Zelda thought, that was the real problem. That even after all those years all he was waiting for was to finally get his part of the bargain.

What was beyond Zelda though, was why Edward had not wanted anyone else to know. Yes, the two of them had been very close but that still didn’t explain why she wasn’t allowed to at least tell Hilda. Though right now, she really wished she could just try to explain it to Sabrina. Oh, her niece would be mad, probably refuse to speak to her for a few days, but in the end she would understand that she didn’t have a choice but to sign the book.

As it was, that was not an option and she had to try and talk the girl into doing the right thing without revealing her father’s secret. Which, as she very well knew, was going to be a lot harder than it sounded.

Sabrina might be the daughter of Edward and Diana but she had been raised by Hilda and herself and nobody could claim that the sisters were anything but stubborn. Oh, Hilda might seem like she was soft enough to give under even the slightest pressure but Zelda knew her sister well. They didn’t always get along – they were s _isters,_ for Satan’s sake, they weren’t supposed to be bosom buddies – yet they couldn’t be without each other.

Of course they both had spent years, decades even, travelling on their own but in the end, they always seemed to be pulled back together. It wasn’t something anyone could explain but their grandmother had once told them that it was not an unusual bond for sisters and it would only get stronger with time. They hadn’t appreciated that back then and even now it wasn’t often that they used their connection but it was comforting to know that if something happened they would know.

It was funny, really. The last sixteen years of raising Sabrina together had probably been the most time they had spent constantly together in the past two hundred years. They had lived together longer, of course, but even then they had both separate lives that only collided rarely. But it had been easier, then, than it was now. They could balance each other more easily but with the two of them _and_ Ambrose _and_ Sabrina constantly penned up in the house…well, it tended to take on strange shapes.

And no matter how harsh and demanding Zelda was, her sister had a way of silently making things go her way and usually, Zelda just watched silently. But even though she would never admit it openly, she also wouldn’t deny that Hilda was just as stubborn as she was herself.

So Sabrina really didn’t have the best prospects there: She got the full dosage of the Spellman spirit, incredibly stubborn, righteous and sometimes unbelievably recalcitrant. On top of that, she was a teenager and half-mortal. And then she had been raised by three members of the family who had all those characteristics as well – even if they showed them in very different ways.

Considering all that, it was more than clear to Zelda that convincing Sabrina to sign the book was going to be a very hard job.

There was only so much she could do about it without telling about the price Edward payed to marry Diana…

Zelda abruptly stopped her pacing and turned around.

All this thinking and contemplating wouldn’t do her any good, she needed to focus on something else. Perhaps she should read the bible for a while…but no, that wouldn’t help her.

She wandered back into the kitchen, still unusually aimless and found Hilda who was jsut clearing up the dishes from breakfast. It took her one look at Zelda before she made her sit down – something she would never attempt in front of anyone else but had no qualms doing when they were alone – and put a cup of tea in front of her.

Of course Zelda rolled her eyes but she didn’t protest when she took a sip of whatever calming concoction it was.

‘I don’t know what you’re thinking about but it’s buzzing and loud,’ Hilda stated without looking at her.

Zelda eyed her over the brim of the cup and focused for a moment. It didn’t happen often, that she was so agitated that some of her carefully built walls cracked but this morning’s fight with her niece had really riled her up.

No one apart from Hilda would have noticed, of course, and the only reason she knew was because she was annoyingly empathetic and knew her better than anyone. Keeping her thoughts from others - especially her sister – was yet another thing she had learned very early on and if they weren’t so tuned in to each other it was doubtful Hilda would have even noticed.

But they were and Hilda had witnessed the entire argument earlier and while she didn’t know what exactly had her sister so upset – apart from the fact that their niece didn’t want to sign the book, that was – so she didn’t push it.

Zelda simply focused for a moment and immediately the only sound in the kitchen was their breathing, no more thoughts trying to burst out. But in Hilda’s opinion her sister still looked a little upset and without hesitation she pulled her up again and back into the sitting room.

It didn’t take more than a flick of a wrist to place the jigsaw-puzzle on the coffee table and even though Zelda rolled her eyes, she was somewhat grateful.

This might not be exactly what she had been imagining when she wanted to focus on something other than Sabrina’s antics but she knew very well that it was a very efficient method. And even somewhat enjoyable if she was being entirely honest. Not that she would ever admit that, of course.

The sisters focused on the puzzle in front of them for a while and even though neither of them said much, they both knew why they were there. Not because Zelda was all anxious and unfocused, not because Hilda was distracted and twitchy, no. No, they just needed a moment to think of something other than their niece.

It didn’t matter that it couldn’t last for long because they knew that eventually they would have to go back to reality to face all their troubles and deal with their problems.

But for now, both sisters were perfectly content to stay in their silent little bubble for a little longer and pretend that their only challenge was the jigsaw in front of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I am currently working on several different caos stories but when I rewatched e1 to check something, this popped into my head and demanded to be written right away. Writing Zelda's 'thoughts' was interessting, I didn't know where this was going and I really hope it wasn't too chaotic :)  
> I'd love to know what you think! <3


End file.
